Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Opens New Terminal

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, also known as Guangzhou Airport, has just opened its newest terminal, designated Terminal 2. As China Southern's home base, the new Terminal 2 was desperately needed thanks to limited slots available meaning for less growth. Although China Southern has said that it will shift operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, it has not yet given a specific date. The Terminal's opening had been severely delayed -by 2 years.

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The new Terminal already has airlines though, with Kenya Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Xiamen Airlines being the first four carriers relocating their operations. Covering over 650,000 square meters, the new Terminal is able to handle an annual passenger throughput of 45 million. The Terminal is highly advanced with over 28% of all check in counters being self-service. Not only that, but the airport also has 56 self-service luggage check-in machines which will certainly help reduce waiting times in lines. In addition to all of this, the new Terminal is expected to have facial recognition security services introduced in the near future.

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Last year, the airport as a whole handled 65.8 million passengers, a 10.2% rise year on year. 50.6 million passengers were travelling domestically, while 15.1 million passengers were travelling internationally which is a 20% increase each year.

(Photo from http://www.scmp.com)

Thanks to the new Terminal, the airport is expected to handle around 70 million passengers this year as well as 1.9 million tonnes of cargo. Airlines will now be able to expand their operations at the airport, offering more choice to passengers, as well as adding new routes to the airports' already long list of destinations. However, thr airport is projected to face severe challenges including slot restrictions, competition from nearby airport, Hong Kong International which is currently booming, and airspace congestion which is currently a huge problem in the entirety of China.